forfeit
verb
- give up (to)
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L320894 on Wikidata ↗adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L336901 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈfɔː.fɪt/ / /ˈfɔɹ.fɪt/ / /ˈfɔrfət/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.
- Lost or alienated for an offense or crime; liable to penal seizure.
“to tread the forfeit paradise”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.
- A penalty for or consequence of a misdemeanor.
“That he our deadly forfeit should release”
- A thing forfeited; that which is taken from somebody in requital of a misdeed committed; that which is lost, or the right to which is alienated, by a crime, breach of contract, etc.
“He who murders pays the forfeit of his own life.”
“Thy slanders I forgive; and therewithal / Remit thy other forfeits.”
- Something deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine as part of a game.
“Country dances and forfeits shortened the rest of the day.”
- Injury; wrong; mischief.
“a. 1789, Barry St. Leger, Siege of Nicopolis to seek arms upon people and country that never did us any forfeit”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.
- To suffer the loss of something by wrongdoing or non-compliance
“He forfeited his last chance of an early release from jail by repeatedly attacking another inmate.”
- To lose a contest, game, match, or other form of competition by voluntary withdrawal, by failing to attend or participate, or by violation of the rules
“Because only nine players were present, the football team was forced to forfeit the game.”
- To be guilty of a misdeed; to be criminal; to transgress.
- To fail to keep an obligation.
“I will have the heart of him if he forfeit.”
- Of government officials: to legally remove property from its previous owners.
“After the raid on USPV, Plaintiffs filed claims with the FBI seeking return of their seized property. The government did not return the property in response to these claims; instead, it indicated that it was seeking to forfeit the property.”